★★★

Reviewer - Becky

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Killing the Cat is a brand new musical directed by Jenny Eastop and with the book and lyrics written by Warner Brown showing at The Riverside Studios. The theme surrounds the topic of sharing a world with someone that doesn’t share your own beliefs. How can you fall for someone who doesn’t follow the same morals as your own? Does love truly stand a chance in these sorts of circumstances? These are all but a few of the questions raised within this world premiere of Killing the Cat.

This is a topic not frequently discussed within musical theatre. The subject asks big questions that are in need of asking but not ones that necessarily need answers. The story follows Maggie (Madalena Alberto), a stubborn scientist set in her ways in believing everything has a scientific sense explantation through the likes of research and testing. She meets Luke (Tim Rogers) a religious man, passionate about the creation of the world by a greater source. Two complete polar opposites come together through Maggie’s need to escape and get scientific fame through a book she had written that’s now globally successful if not also a bit controversial.

The chemistry is definitely there between the actors, with their love story being played out mainly through song. However, with saying this the songs do come across sometimes a little sporadic, random almost. It’s almost as if this didn’t really need to be a musical, the songs do just feel as if they’re talking to one another, a layout I’ve never quite experienced in a show before.

That being said the music was played live by an astonishing band, we had live cello, keys and percussion and this added an extra dimension to the show. Georgia Morse is absolutely captivating on the cello, she really added a well-needed dynamic to the music. All the songs blended together as if all were part of one big song within itself.

The set design was simplistic and monochromatic. It had an almost church-like appearance, very well suited to the theming within the show. The band blend into the set with matching white apparel, becoming almost a part of the set if you will. The transitions between each scene were smooth and well thought through, nothing felt too jilted.

The side characters played by Molly Lynch, Kluane Saunders and Joaquin Pedro Valdes serve as the light relief throughout the entirety of the story. With light comedic moments and some powerful ballads contributed by all, they all had their own moment to shine as well.

With a multitude of personalities being portrayed and an array of beliefs and morals, this was a very layered piece of art. Both lead characters had different ways of representing their thoughts, it’s truly a journey of discovery and finding your place within a world that has so many doors for you to open. Killing the cat isn’t just about finding love in the unlikeliest of places but actually about learning to love yourself and be okay with a little uncertainty in your life, not always having to explain every situation with logic.

Never have I seen a show like Killing the cat, I think that’s its unique selling point for me. I truly couldn’t imagine ever seeing anything again quite like it. This show truly represents the idea of opposites attracting no lanterns and how hard the differences are.